It is with profound love and the deepest sense of loss that we announce the passing of baby Meyers “Taco John” Everitt. Meyers, named after his great-grandpa Ronald Meyers, was born on Nov. 27, 2024, in Springfield, Illinois, and left our world far too soon on Sept. 4, 2025, in the same loving community where […]
Newsletter – Main
Posted inNews
As Trump declares ‘we’re going in,’ Pritzker says ‘terror and cruelty is the point’
Gov. JB Pritzker said Tuesday he expects Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to employ the same aggressive strategies they used in Los Angeles earlier this summer after President Donald Trump said he will deploy the National Guard to Chicago. The information, Pritzker said, was not directly communicated to him, but rather gleaned from anonymous sources […]
Posted inRich Miller
Not the usual rally crowd
The breadth of invited attendees at the event organized last week by Gov. JB Pritzker really stood out for me. The event along the Chicago River was designed to publicly warn President Donald Trump not to send National Guard or regular military troops into the city. The usual collection of Democratic politicians, union leaders and […]
Posted inNews
A compassionate kind of care
For the second year in a row, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine resident physicians and medical students spent a few hours experiencing some of the nonclinical challenges associated with being a patient in poverty. Roughly 14,000 people live below the federal poverty line in Springfield, according to the most recent census data. Almost 60 […]
Posted inNews
Don Tracy to run for U.S. Senate
Don Tracy, the former chair of the Illinois Republican Party and scion of the family that owns the largest food redistributor in North America, wants to be the next U.S. senator from Illinois. The 75-year-old Springfield lawyer said his background makes him particularly qualified to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield. “I want to […]
Posted inCommunity & Lifestyle
Pushing back the tide
In 2019, six students and I spent a week at the South Texas Family Residential Center – a remote, for-profit private facility and the country’s largest immigrant detention center. We worked with women and children seeking asylum from unimaginable violence. We heard stories of rape, kidnapping and mutilation, including against children; gang extortion, brutal gender-based […]
Posted inNews
Frank Lesko to take on Doris Turner
Republican Sangamon County Recorder Frank Lesko announced Tuesday that he will run for the state Senate seat now held by Doris Turner. Lesko was elected recorder last year when he defeated incumbent Josh Langfelder by 31 votes with more than 100,000 cast. Before being elected recorder he served as the Springfield city clerk. Turner, a […]
Posted inNews
AARP Illinois celebrates 90 years of Social Security
Dozens of AARP members piled into the main hall of Erin’s Pavilion on Aug. 20 to hear what local politicians had to say about problems facing retired communities inSpringfield. The event also served as a 90th anniversary celebration for the Social Security Act signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. AARP Illinois senior director […]
Posted inNews
Insurance company alleges Wyndham owner caused damage
The owner of the Wyndham Springfield City Centre conspired to cause the extensive water damage that rendered the 369-room hotel inoperable on March 27, an insurance company alleged in documents filed Aug. 25 in federal court. Tower Capital Group general manager Al Rajabi attempted to fool Affiliated FM Insurance Co. to get the company to […]
Posted inNews
Former King’s Daughters Home to house nurses
Yolanda Rice, a Springfield investor and entrepreneur, plans to purchase the former King’s Daughters Home and create apartments for nursing students and traveling nurses. “This has been a long journey,” Rice said, “but I have been met with great support from the city, the Historic Sites Commission and many others to make this a reality.” […]
Posted inNews
Insurance industry blames inflation, climate change for rate hikes
Insurance industry officials defended recent homeowners insurance rate spikes this week, blaming such factors as inflation and climate change while warning that attempts to regulate their ability to set rates would be bad for consumers. In testimony during a virtual meeting Wednesday of the Senate Insurance Committee, officials pushed back against criticisms by Gov. JB […]
Posted inNews
Health workers help address disparities
An apartment fire put Willie Taylor out of his home two years ago on Springfield’s east side and threw his life into chaos. A survivor of two strokes who deals with high blood pressure and other health problems, Taylor, 71, is on more stable footing these days. He attributes the improvement to Derek Rimelspach, a […]
